Pinoy travelers among thousands stranded at JFK airport

ABS-CBN News

QUEENS, New York – Filipinos were among those stranded at the John F. Kennedy airport after severe winter weather hit the northeast area last week.

Elma Alarcon and her husband Ricky came from Virginia to catch a flight from New York to the Philippines.

"Kasi siya nagta-trabaho siya sa cruise ship. So delayed yung flight niya. Na-stranded siya sa Chicago for two days and then na-stranded siya sa Philadelphia for a day. He rented a car in Richmond to get to Norfolk," said Elma.

Like thousands of airline travelers this weekend, the Alarcons are having an extra long journey.

Weather forecasters said a bomb cyclone hit the area on Thursday which caused delays to hundreds of flights in and out of JKF airport. Two other incidents caused more headaches.

Ahead of an incoming winter snow storm, a Jet Blue flight waits to take off from Logan International Airport next to the frozen waters of the Atlantic Ocean harbour between Winthrop and Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., January 3, 2018. Reuters

On Saturday, two planes collided on the tarmac, and a man was arrested with a loaded stolen gun while going through security.

That same day, a total of 93 flights were cancelled because terminal operators, officials said, were working on a series of issues.

A woman walks down the street during a blizzard in Long Beach, New York, U.S. on Thursday. Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

On Sunday, a pipe feeding the terminal's sprinkler system broke sending water into the arrivals and customs inspection areas of the terminal. Officials said it was weather related.